Political Quotes

“With great respect to the chairman of the committee, the many conversations I have had with the general who runs the Washington Military District, with the Air Force and Army colonels, with the Marine major, and with many of the helicopter pilots, none of them have suggested for a moment that national security, homeland security, or law enforcement were at risk here. In fact, the pilots said: We would be happy to fly higher as long as we have permission from the FAA. We are not interfering in the slightest with their ability to accomplish their mission. We understand their mission. We respect it. No one is saying that we can't protect not only our Nation's top executives, but also the military officers who need to fly in and around this region. What we are simply saying is that, in many cases, 300 feet, 500 feet, 700 feet is a more logical place to fly. We have had testimony that people have been in apartment buildings in Crystal City, looked out their window, and seen the helicopters fly below their window. This happens in Rosslyn, also. What we are simply asking is that the FAA responsibly look at whether--with lots of feedback from the Army, Air Force, Marines, from law enforcement, from the Secret Service--they couldn't, in fact, fly a few hundred feet higher than they fly right now. If they can't, we will accept that and do our best to move some other way.…”